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My Day at The Renaissance Faire

Hubby and I headed off to the Renaissance Faire dressed in our finest attire. We pulled into the entrance and dutifully paid our parking fee. We drove down the long road towards the back of the reservoir to get to the fair. As we got closer to our designated parking area, hubby asks if we should park in the preferred parking area. He asks me that every year and every year I say the same thing.

“No, it’s too expensive,” says I.

“Are you sure?” says he.

“Yes.”

“How do you know it’s too expensive?”

“Sign says $20.”

“What sign?”

“That sign!”

“That’s not that much,” says he.

“That’s $20 plus the $10 we already paid! We can walk,” says I.

I should have been more sympathetic. I know his feet hurt really bad after all the walking we do and he had on a pair of boots that were more costume than boot, so I knew they weren’t that comfortable. Alas, we passed the preferred parking and headed for the not-so-preferred parking. It didn’t matter to me that the entrance was about a gazillion miles from our car. Still, I had to walk very slowly because my mermaid skirt is very narrow down by my legs, but I was still slipping and sliding on the pebbled and rocky ground. That was ok, I didn’t mind. We were saving money here! Meanwhile, hubby was commenting that if we had parked in the preferred section, we would be inside already. He was right about that, but I was still right about not paying another $20 for parking! A nice leisurely walk is good for you. We finally arrived at the entrance, where he pointed out the lovely preferred parking area and how it was steps from the entrance. Yep, it was lovely, but not that lovely. But we made it, and we started our adventure.

Finally Inside

We’ve attended this fair for many years so I wasn’t expecting anything new, but I was pleased to find I could still be surprised. I love admiring all the beautiful wares in all the shops. Naturally, I’m drawn to the shops that have fiber arts. One of the first shops we peeked into sold beautiful coats made from up-cycled sweaters and doilies. I’d seen them around before and they are stunning. This time, I actually stepped into the shop instead of admiring them from afar. I was looking at some when a friendly staff member had me try one on while telling me the history of the coats. She said her daughter made the coats and traveled all over the place collecting sweaters and doilies she needed in order to make them. I love those kinds of stories!

Such a lovely coat and it’s purple!

The coat is much heavier than I expected!

They also had beautiful outfits made almost entirely from doilies that were hand dyed. I was looking at this beautiful outfit (below). I had seen these gorgeous outfits before and never realized that they were made from collected doilies. It got me thinking about gathering some doilies myself and seeing if I could make my own outfit. I can make a doily but it’s not my thing (it’s really not my thing) but I could certainly gather doilies. That’s in my wheel house. 🙂

I’m thinking, “I can make this!”

The next little surprise was that, of all the people who liked my costume, there were two men who liked it because of how it was made. They even knew it was made from the crocodile stitch. Turns out, they both crochet. In fact, one of them owned the shop I was in (below) and crocheted most of the items.

These are so cute!

I love looking at all the stuff in the shops but I rarely buy anything. It happens, but rarely. I hate spending the money. But, I discovered this next shop and just couldn’t resist making a purchase. I hadn’t seen it before in our prior visits so another surprise.

So Cute!

It was hard to choose.

I walked away with this little beauty.

My last surprise was this yarn-bombed tree.

So lovely.

Here are a few more pretty things we saw before we headed home.

Who knew spiders could be so pretty.

I was looking at this for inspiration on a new outfit for next year. I can’t (don’t want to) do that delicate work, but it’s a nice guide for something I am willing to do.

And We’re Done

So tired and ready for home.

As we headed out of the fair, the first thing we saw was the preferred parking. Hubby mentioned how much his feet hurt as we walked past that beautiful lot and how we should have parked there. I said we’ll do it next year, even though we all know I’m lying. He’ll probably just ignore me next time. 🙂

Gosh I love everything! The coat is fabulous, the doily dress is just beautiful, the octopods are so CUTE, and seriously who knew spiders could be so lovely? I probably would have spent a good deal of money if I had gone

There is so much to see! You would just love it. I have been called frugal by some (me) and cheap by others (everyone else) so I always think I can make whatever it is I’m looking at. 😂 But I can’t make cute little porcelain dolls and it wasn’t expensive so I let myself indulge. I almost got a spider too. 🕷

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